Canada’s Workforce Faces a Troubling Slide in Literacy, Numeracy

- The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies through research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review.

CANADA - Canada’s workforce has experienced a troubling slide in literacy and numeracy skills, despite higher levels of education and improvements in learning technology, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.

The report shows that aging and generational differences, such as in education quality and work environment, largely contribute to these declines. Skills erode with age at an accelerated rate, intensifying the negative impact of aging population on average performance. As well, recent generations of Canadians achieved lower scores in literacy and numeracy, regardless of education level.

“More education does not necessarily guarantee more skills: educational attainment, which is generally defined as the highest degree an individual has completed, and skills attainment are trending in the opposite direction,” states Mahboubi, who believes that lowering the admission bar for post-secondary institutions is among the factors contributing to declining skills levels.

The report also highlights that average literacy test scores of individuals aged 55 years or older in 2012 declined at a faster rate than others. Therefore, slowing the rate of skills deterioration is important, especially among low-skilled workers who see sharper decline rates as they age.

Mahboubi makes the following recommendations to tackle Canada’s decline in skills:

Provinces should focus their attention on education quality at all levels;

Federal and provincial government should encourage active learning and offer more targeted training opportunities for individuals that are at most risk to skills deterioration; and

Provincial and federal policymakers need to review their on-the-job training programs to ensure their effectiveness.

“Improving these policies will help develop a more skilled workforce and would drive broader prosperity and economic growth with positive social impacts,” concludes Mahboubi.